Cleaning for Passover? Step 1 – Gather the children to eat some oranges
Simcha Raba, Simcha Raba, spring is here, Pesach is coming soon.
Have you already started cleaning for Passover? Have you made a logistics plan that specifies when to clean the carpets, shutters, and behind-the-bed, all places that we reach only on Pesach? This is the time to question your methods and pay attention to your detergents. Yes, yes, this time I’m writing not about organic fruits and vegetables, but about those sprays and liquids with which you are going to clean your house – are you sure you want to use these materials?
I’m referring, of course, to those conventional materials that are sold wholesale at supermarkets and are marked with sale signs for Pesach. The materials, as a friend of mine who was a “clean freak” told me, must sting the eyes or it will not really be clean.
Yes, your eyes burn when these material are diffused in the air; you also feel it in the lungs, it can burn them too. The obvious reason is their high toxicity levels. You can prevent this if you work with a mask on your face, but I have not met too many people who do. Also, what does it do to the skin, especially to children's sensitive skin, and especially to crawling babies? What does it mean that you have to keep everyone away from a sprayed surface, from fear of skin burns, or random contact with the eyes or mouth; to not be at home until the air is cleared and the atmosphere in the house is safe again?
Think about it. Do you really want these materials n your home?
What is the alternative? Just like buying organic vegetables and fruits rather than those that are sprayed (poisoned?), there actually are alternative materials. In recent years, environmentally friendly cleaning products have begun to come to the market – those that decompose quickly and do not harm the environment, which are much less toxic to people and pets living in the home. Among them are laundry detergents and softeners, materials for general cleaning, for doing dishes and for washing floors – actually just about everything. In our store we have a nice variety of these natural cleaning materials!
Can a natural product be effective in cleaning your home and successfully compete with the synthetic products you ask? Sure they can. Although they are based on natural ingredients, these cleaners do a great job. To prove that natural materials can do a good job, you do not have to go far – take half a lemon and rub it on the counter top and the faucets (I tried it the other day, so I know it works – the faucets are shiny). Another example? If you like essential oils (and I love them), and do not like stubborn stains that survive the washing machine, try essential lemon oil – two drops on a small stain that refused to be cleared from one of my bright sweaters and the stain faded away (I did not even wash again, just left it out in the sun).
What other tricks do natural materials have up their sleeve? The Holy Trinity – vinegar, lemon salt and a bit of baking soda. Step one – seat the family for a meal including citrus fruit. (You can tell them about the benefits of Vitamin C, or not) Keep the peels and pour vinegar to cover them. After two days, put all of this in a blender and mix well. A mixture with wonderful aroma is obtained, which is also very effective for general cleaning and especially for polishing stainless steel surfaces.
How do you combine essential oils (you can also order them from us!), with wonderful scents in cleaning the house? A drop of lavender oil will enhance the laundry softener and a drop of tea tree oil will enhance the laundry gel; Regular window spray can be replaced with a spray including a few drops of grapefruit essential oil – the smell is simply addictive! A glass of baking soda, mixed with a glass of vinegar and a few drops of lemon essential oil, creates a "natural bleach" that leaves many of the "regular" detergents in the dust and doesn’t nearly approach their toxicity levels.
In the past, I have written about organic cleaning materials that can be prepared at home (soon the kids have a loooong vacation…), as well as excellent explanations about cleaning materials and their essential oils.
To health!
Yours,
Maggie and the garden team
In our ,suitable for Passover, organic vegetable baskets this week, we can expect (draft only):
Beets bundle with leaves
Leeks
lettuce
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Celery root
parsley
onions
Green onions
Cabbage
In the large organic vegetable baskets, also:
sweet potatoes
coriander
Green garlic
Dill
Organic fruit baskets:
Bananas
Oranges
Clementines
In the large organic fruit baskets, also:
Papaya
And more oranges
